These Four Walls
by catchmeonfiree
Summary: What if Sam and Quinn lived in Panem, District 12? What if Quinn was an orphan in the community home and Sam had to hunt rabbits for his poor family? And what if both had been chosen as tribute to fight to the death in the Games? Please review! Thanks! ;3
1. The Reaping

A/N: _So the Hunger Games movie is coming out pretty soon, get excited! I am! Can't wait to see the movie because I love the book. So this is gonna be in Quinn's point of view; leave thoughts in a review please! __**HUGE NOTE: So basically in this fic, the events and plot and story and stuff of Catching Fire and Mockingjay DO NOT EXIST. Sure, there was the Quarter Quell, but they weren't tributes and they were mentors to some other tributes. Trying to incorporate everything that happens in Catching Fire and Mockingjay is too much work. :D After Peeta and Katniss win the Games (in the first book), a couple years after that, this is the outcome of fabrevans x everlark. **__Thanks for reading! :D _

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My hand stings from the overflowing tea that Rachel pours into my porcelain cup as I had lay it there when she lifted the white pot above. I bring my hand up to my mouth, trying to stop the sting and taste the bitter tartness of her homemade tea. My mouth sticks and sucks the tea as I try to cool it. When I bring my hand back out of my mouth, it's maroon red like a fresh cherry with my teeth marks all over it from biting down too hard.

"Quinn, I'm sorry," apologizes Rachel. She takes my hand swiftly and checks to make sure it's fine, but I pull away and smile.

"I'm good, Rachel. Thanks," I say.

I sit back down on my bed as Finn gets up on the other side and grabs two tissues from a handmade wooden box on the dresser in the front of the room, next to the open door. He walks back over, almost waddling, and gives one to Rachel to help clean up the mess that she has made. I stay on my bed as I rub my hand over and over again, trying to stop the slight burning pain as much as I can.

"Quinn, I'm still sorry," says Finn, the tissue that he's holding wet with Rachel's tea.

"Guys... stop apologizing," I say, frustrated but scared of all the looks that everyone has been giving me since this late morning. I pick up the sheets and go under the covers, turning onto my side facing Finn and Rachel as they finish mopping up the tea, their tissues soggy and light brown. I make sure to put my hand on the coolest spot on my bed. "It's not like I had a choice... it's not like I ever had a choice."

Lucy Quinn Fabray. I go by Quinn because Lucy has never fitted my personality, never will. I am sixteen years old. My younger brother and I live in the community home in District 12. And Finn and Rachel... they're my two best friends. I've known them ever since I arrived here at the community home, the first ones to say 'hello'. I've been here since I was seven years old, almost remembering nothing about my past, before I had lived here with them. My parents, they were Russell and Judy Fabray. I remember them, remember their faces, but I barely know anything about them. And I don't know where they are as well. I knew them for such a small portion of my life, and I never got to remember any memories with them, never got to formally know them as my mom and my dad, or as a family. I remember when I was young, how they hugged my brother and I together in one bunch, holding on and they didn't dare to let go. We were wrapped in sheets, and they were protecting us. What from, I don't know and I never will. And then waking up one day to find the other side of the bed empty, our mother's indent on the bed vanished and my brother alone on the other bed, our father not in sight. Thinking that they were out on an earlier hunt, we had continued our morning schedule and went to school, but upon arriving back, Peacekeepers were in our hut of a home, armed with weapons, sweeping us away to the community home.

Here in District 12, some say that they committed a horrible crime, something unimaginably crazy and idiotic, even enough to have something as terrifying as to have them disappear from me, their only daughter. Some say that they are now Avoxes, even if they are older than all the other rebels. The people in District 12 say that they work lonesome hours in the Capitol, mainly taking care of the Tributes when they arrive for the Games. And they haven't seen each other's faces ever since they arrived in the Capitol. They do the usual pillow fluffing, dish serving, and not speaking. But those are all just rumours. Some say that they were murdered and mutilated in the most bloodcurdling fashion and that I had had to stand there and watch it happen. But obviously, I don't remember anything like that. If it would have been that life changing, those images would probably still be burning in my mind, haunting me every evening in my nightmares like it was a horrid beast.

And even though I had never met them, I still love them. Somehow, I just know that they had gotten in trouble in one way or another because they had to feed my brother and I. They loved us, that is all I know. No matter what foolishness the townspeople say around here, no matter what whispers I pick up on while eavesdropping at the Hob, I know that they had loved us, and they will never stop loving us.

My younger brother is Chase Fabray. It has been nine years since the disappearance of our parents and Chase is eleven years old as of early April. I remember my mother telling me one day that they had chosen the name Chase for my brother because the day that she had borne him, my father and her could feel that he would grow up to be strong and courageous, a most phenomenal spirit and they knew he would never stop chasing after what he wanted. And they were right. Chase is the light in my life, and if I didn't have him, I would have starved myself to death after my parents were gone. I love Chase. If I ever hurt him in any way, I would apologize immediately. And I would sacrifice myself for him. I remember a few years back, the most spectacular victory for District 12, the triumph of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. I remember watching the reaping from inside the crowd, citizens of Panem flooding the square. I remember me by my mother's side, her holding tight to me, and Chase, just a baby, in my father's loving arms. I remember hearing Effie Trinket saying the name 'Primrose Everdeen', and a silent scream from her older sister, Katniss. I remember Katniss hauling herself up to the stage, embracing Prim in a hug, and volunteering herself as tribute for the Games. I remember how brave Katniss had been. And I want to be like her. I always apply for tessera, even though the community home has enough food to go around for everyone. But Finn, Rachel, and I like to bake small, tasteless biscuits in a small oven over on the other side of the building in the kitchen where the chef, Niahm, let's us bake them in the night, where there is less attention and Finn always looks out for any night guards wandering in the halls. After we finish baking the poor biscuits, we always make exactly twenty, hand two over for Niahm as a thank you, and head over to the male dormitories where Finn and Chase bunk. Finn gets off there and we hand over four to him, and four to Chase and I kiss him goodnight as Rachel and I scurry back to the female dormitories. Because Rachel and I sleep in the same quarter, we take four for ourselves, and the leftover two we save in the morning to eat, splitting one between Finn and Chase, and one between Rachel and I.

Chase cannot be chosen to be in the Games just yet, he still has one year. And I have always prepared him in these nine years that we've gone through without our parents. On Sundays, we always sneak out into the woods, just the two of us, and hunt for game, usually rabbits and sometimes squirrels if he's quick enough to shoot one with the bow and arrow that I keep in my tethered leather knapsack that had once belonged to my father. He had taught me about archery a long time ago, and whenever I had time to sneak out of the community home into the woods, I would use the bow and arrow and I had skilled myself in first class archery. From the game that Chase and I hunt, we stroll into the Hob and trade with men and women who knew our father's name well. My brother and I know how to survive without the help of the community home. The only problem is I have never let Chase go hunting for game on his own. I'm always there by his side in case something happens to him and he can't rescue himself. But what happens when Chase is going to be left alone by himself and he can't help it, can't do anything about it.

_"Quinn... wake up," Rachel says to me, nudging my shoulders as I awake from my late night slumber. It's about nine thirty on the red painted wooden clock that dangles above the mahogany boudoir in our quarters. She shakes my shoulders again and I finally get up, supporting myself on two elbows pushing into the plush mattress. _

_Rachel is holding a clean white bowl in the middle of her two hands, in front of her chest, positioned to give it to me. Inside the bowl are fresh strawberries that Chase and I gathered yesterday in the woods, a special batch that we didn't trade the mayor with. The strawberries are a bright red, the seed intact and the leaves green as ever. On top of the strawberries are little sugar sprinkled and some small chunks of sugar cubes too, accompanied with a silver spoon. _

_Not only is Rachel giving me breakfast in bed strange, but also the fact that she's wearing her finest clothes, dresses tailored by her mother before she left to teach in the Capitol. Her dress is just below knee length and is the color of a rainy day. Rachel's hair had been done in a small braid and she's even put on light makeup. She looks so simple yet so beautiful and I think of what could be the cause for the get up. _

_I look to the right of Rachel and I see Chase. Technically, Chase isn't allowed to be in the female dormitories even if all he wants to do is see me, but the guard for the level that Rachel and my quarter is on lets Chase slip by, not saying a word and zipping her mouth. Chase is in a white polo shirt and it's buttoned up all the way. His dirty blonde hair is freshly cut and he has washed his face so many times, it appears flawless. Kids in the community home say that Chase is starting to look like Gale Hawthorn, Katniss Everdeen's best friend. And I do agree; Chase is starting to look like a grown man, although he's only eleven. Chase is wearing crisp khakis and white canvas sneakers that I traded for with a rabbit in the Hob. _

_Chase is holding a tall glass of creamy milk in his hands and his eyebrows furrow as he notices my confusion. _

_"Quinn... the reaping is today," says Chase. _

_My breath hitches. That's right. Today is the reaping. I look at the clock again, nine thirty five. I scramble out of bed, practically slipping on the sheets because I've pulled them to the ground. Rachel puts the bowl of strawberries down as she helps me regain my balance. _

_"Quinn... it's alright," says Rachel. "We've got almost three more hours until the reaping begins, we'll be fine until then." She leads me back to my bed and I sit down. "Here. Eat this bowl of strawberries. Chase and I just picked them this morning." She looks over to my brother and he smiles. "You'll lose the nausea that's inside your stomach right now. And drink the milk. Niahm gave it to us." Chase grabs the bowl of strawberries from the bedside table and hands over the milk to me as well. _

_"Chase, why are you dressed so nice?" I ask. "Your name won't appear in the glass globe today at all." He comes over to me and sits down on the bed. _

_"I don't know... I just wanted to..." whispers Chase, and I pull him into my arms, kissing his blonde hair, ruffling it, then offering to brush it back nicely for him. _

_"Come on, Quinn. We'll be in the left wing kitchen with Niahm while you get ready. Come on, Chase," Rachel says, then walks out of our quarter holding Chase's hand while they both wave goodbye to me. _

_I groan in my bed. No matter how strong willed I appear to be in the outside world, I am always terrified. Sometimes, I don't even know what I'm scared of, or even have something that really does give me chills. I guess one thing that I will always be scared of is losing Chase. But that will never happen. And I won't let it. Chase is the only good thing in this sick country and I will never see the day when he is gone. _

_I fling the red woolen sheets off my shivering body. It's warm outside, but a breeze flies through the window and my teeth chatter. My wardrobe isn't huge, and I don't have much. Usually it's dark jeans and short leather boots with fraying shoelaces on a regular basis with a waterproof black jacket on early Sunday hunts with Chase, or my mother's old blue linen dress. It's simple, nothing extravagant. There are little flower frills at the neck, it's short sleeved, and stops at the knee, but that's it. The only other choices are my nightgown or a dark green cargo jacket that fits me snug, handed down from my father. There's no other path to take except for my mother's dress. I pull my nightgown off and take a quick shower, slipping into the dress. The only other time I've worn it was when I tried it on for my mother. I hear footsteps scattering onto the floor after they finish at the staircase, and I assume that it's the two that I want to see. I call for Rachel. _

_"You two can come back in!" _

_"Can Finn come in?" she asks. I think about it, and the only other thing that needs to be done is my hair, so I say yes. The three of them come into the room after Finn twists the doorknob and gently shuts behind him. _

_"Want me to help braid?" asks Rachel. I nod and I sit back on my bed while she gets behind me, crossing her legs and separates my blonde hair into three locks. _

_"Quinnie! Finn and me are gonna go down to Niahm, he has breakfast for us and he's saving some for you two!" Chase exclaims. I can tell he's trying to bring everybody's moods up. It's not his fault that everybody's down. No one is ever happy during the reaping. And I know that he can I'm scared. Signing up for tessera doesn't help either. What makes it worse is that I always insist on signing up for the tessera so Finn and Rachel don't have to sacrifice themselves for the Capitol's sick mind. To be honest... I'm scared. I know that there's a high chance for me to be picked, to be dead in a matter of time, to be ripped apart from the only family I now have, and to be placed in such a concept of life or death. But I can't let Chase see that. I love him too much. I give him a thumbs up as he and Finn disappear into the hall. _

_"Don't worry too much. It won't be a good attitude," says Rachel. She carefully braids my hair down the center and it feels relaxing. _

_"You're right... it's just... so scary sometimes. You never know what's going to happen to you, if you get chosen, if you die. How just by the sound of your name being called, you know that your whole life is being put at risk, and then... there's no way out," I say. _

_"No one asked for the Games... stupid Capitol." She whispers the last bit, knowing that she'll get in some sort of trouble if anyone hears and giggle lightly. "The best you can do... is just not rebel against them, I guess."_

_Rebellions. They sound so good right now. To just march to the Capitol and lash out at them. Fight them once more, for our well earned freedom that we all deserve. So then we won't have to live in their shadows, lingering about. We could reunite as one whole, not the lonely districts that we now are, and just go against the Capitol, and make them pay for all the rights they've wronged. But we can't. The Games are bad enough. _

_"That's true," I say. "I just don't understand how they can live with themselves while watching their own people dying. They're flung onto the ground, and the Gamemakers don't even care, as long as they have a good show." _

_Rachel looks at me, stopping the braiding, and lowers her voice. "We can only hope that one day... Panem will realize that everything is wrong, and they will try everything to make it right. I just wish they knew that." _

_"Well we can only hope, but I wish that could come true, Rachel..." I say. We both stop talking until she's done with my braid and we step out, locking the door behind us to join with Chase and Finn, leaving behind the only safe and sound place that I could be in, the feeling that's called happy, something District 12 doesn't always feel._

...

_Rachel and I walk side by side into the square. The crowd is packing everyone is and the space gets tighter and tighter. Chase is with Will Schuester, a friend of our parents who knew them from childhood. They're off in the sidelines together, under the dusty sun, waiting for someone's fate, but never enjoying it. _

_Finn is in the boys' sector, with all the boys that range from twelve years to eighteen. Finn is seventeen. After one more year, he won't have to face any more fear, until he has children, of course. Rachel and I are both sixteen, with two more years of dread and panic behind our sweating backs. We both hope that Finn won't get picked as tribute because, even though we love him to bits, we both know that he couldn't stand a chance in the Arena, would probably die in the bloodbath or in the Capitol because of anxiety. Finn doesn't even know how to hunt, even though my younger brother, younger than him by five years. Chase could haul in a wild turkey and some rabbits while Finn would trudge back in with some berries. He had better not be chosen as tribute; I could never live it down._

_Then, there's Rachel to worry about. My best friend. The one who has had my back after all these years. The young girl with pigtails that I had met ten years ago. My sister. I remember when I was just getting to know her, I discovered that she was a phenomenal singer. I remember sitting outside on the most rainiest day of that year, still processing over the information about me and Chase's parents' disappearance... and I just cried. My hair had been soaked, and so were my clothes, and I just sat on the stoop of the stairs, outside in the pouring rain, just crying. And Rachel came out. She had been my only friend since I arrived at the community home. And she just stood in the doorway, looking at me. I remember looking at her reflection on a rain puddle, and her face was void with emotion, just blank. And then, she took a seat on the wet concrete steps next to me, and just pulled me into a hug. And she started singing. Of course, it wasn't anything superior like it is now, but I hadn't heard anyone sing ever since I started living at the community home. My family used to sing all the time, but Chase and I never sang after they disappeared. And we just sat there in the rain, gloomy clouds over us as she sung a quiet melody. The words were faint, but somewhere along the lines of "And I will try to fix you." _

_Over time, I learned that Rachel's favorite songs are classified as "show tunes". Apparently, they had originated in an old place called New York City. That was long ago, back when Panem was a nation called the United States of America. She showed me on a map of Panem where old New York City lies, which is really where District 13 should be. And then more specifically, she said, they were from some place called Broadway, where the people there were always singing and acting. She told me that her old ancestors had performed on this place called Broadway, and were quite famous and well known. And then, generation by generation in her family, they have passed down the songs, all to Rachel, whom her parents taught her. She tells me that she wants to pass it down to her children, but she never wants to risk having her children's names in the big glass globe, a chance of death at their door. _

_Same thing to me. I want to have children one day, with someone I truly love like my mother and father, but I would never risk having their names in the glass globe. Never. _

_But I shouldn't worry now. Not at a time like this. The Games are horrible, and this is nerve wracking, but I can't think like a scared fool right now, even though inside I know that I truly am. _

_Effie Trinket walks up across the stage, and I see some officials sitting up there, including some Peacemakers, Mayor Undersee, and former victors Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Haymitch Abernathy, although I don't know why Haymitch would be there. Effie Trinket is in a pink and gold outfit this year, her face caked with rose colored makeup, and her wig a colossal golden nest. She trots to the podium, and takes a deep breath, smiling when she exhales. _

_"Welcome, everybody! Happy Hunger Games! Now is the time to select two tributes, one courageous young man and woman for the honor of representing District 12 in the 84th annual Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor!" she squeals. Her excitement for the Games, whether it's staged or not, never seems to grow weak. "Ladies first!" She digs her hand into the glass globe, her fingers lingering over almost every sheet of paper and finally pulls one out. Without hesitation, her lips move to the microphone and she takes in another deep breath before saying, _

_"Rachel Berry."_

...

_I can't think._

_I can't do anything. _

_My mouth only slightly opens and I snap back into reality when I see Rachel dragging her body up the stairs. The crowd is silent. I swear my eyeballs bulge out of my socket when I recognize the situation. I flick them over to Finn, who's just as terrified as me. He's biting his lip, and he's so nervous that it's started bleeding. I see Chase out of the corner of my eye. He's clutching onto Schuester, and he's so scared, both of them. Chase only tightens his grip every second, and I think that I can see tears coming out of his pine colored eyes. I can't let this happen to Rachel. Her face is blank like the day she sang to me in the rain, and I can tell that her heart is about to burst out of her chest any second now. She's so scared; all of us are. _

_I don't know what to do. I can't see anything even though the day is clear as glass. I can't hear anything. My tears start falling and I don't know what's happening. I've lost all my senses and I can't feel anything, and then, out of the blue, I shout as if I'm crying out for help, _

_"I volunteer!" _

_My voice is desperate, and you can hear it dripping from my mouth. My hands are clenched up in a tight fist together, and I say, "I volunteer as tribute." _

_I can hear him from behind me, and Chase screams, "No, no! Quinnie! No!" He starts sobbing and I can hear his muffled screaming into Schuester's sweater, balling up his shirt, and stuffing it in his mouth, kicking and screeching. I feel so sorry for Chase, but there is no other way to go, no other path to take. Rachel is my sister and Chase is my brother and he needs to know that I will do anything for the ones I love. _

_And then Rachel joins in with Chase, although she doesn't scream, but she is crying and she yells, "No! Quinn, no! Quinn, you can't do this!" She leaps off the stage, then pushes her body onto me, nearly knocking me over. "No! Quinn! No! You can't do this!" I feel another body, and it's big, so I know that it's Finn. _

_"Quinn..." he starts, "Don't do this." _

_I can't find the strength to let go of them, and I don't want to, but I have to. I violently tear myself away because I know that if I don't, they'll never let me go. Once more, I repeat, "I volunteer as tribute for Rachel Berry in the Hunger Games." _

_Effie Trinket nods, and Chase screams once more, sobbing again after he's done into Schuester's sleeve. Effie Trinket then says, "Then our female tribute will be Quinn Fabray instead of Rachel Berry. But let's not forget about our male tribute!" She reaches her hand into the glass globe again and pulls out another identical slip of paper. She takes the microphone and says, "Samuel Evans." _

_The crowd is silent once more. _

_I look over to Samuel. I've seen him at school, but he's older than me. He's eighteen while I am only sixteen. In a way, I feel so sorry for him. Eighteen years old, the last age before entering the "safe zone", when you don't have to worry about being picked as tribute. But his name is picked, and no one is volunteering for him. Samuel Evans. Samuel Evans is about six feet tall and he's got a strong build. I've seen him work before, and he can kill me in a second if he wanted to, but I can pierce his eyeball in a heartbeat with my archery skills. Samuel Evans is also handsome, all the girls at school swoon over him, yet he never wants any of them. Some say that even with his charm, he hasn't even had his first kiss yet. I doubt that. But I know that I have to remind myself that I cannot grow attached to him, because if I do, then my chances of getting out of the arena are as slim as a piece of hay. _

_"May the selected tributes please make their way to the stage," says Effie Trinket. _

_Samuel Evans and I slowly walk up the stairs until we meet at the center, with one single microphone in between us both. He gives me a look, and his eyes are sad, but I can't give him anything in return as my eyes slowly fade to nothing. _

_"Our tributes, Samuel Evans and Quinn Fabray."_

I sit on the bed, softly sipping the tea. The room has fallen silent. Rachel drinks from her cup, and Chase is leaning against Finn's right arm. Chase's eyes are still red from crying so much and Finn is holding onto his hand tightly. The mayor has twisted the rules just slightly, giving us the rest of the day with the ones we love until six o'clock tomorrow morning when I have to say goodbye to everything I've ever known in my small world at the train station.

"I love you," says Chase. I put my tea cup down and kneel before him and kiss his forehead. As soon as my lips are off his head he pulls me against his chest, heaving up and down. He lets go soon after, but I don't want him to.

"Quinn... we all love you. I love you. And I want you to be safe. And I want to see your face again, Quinn. I want you to come home," says Rachel, her voice quivering as she speaks.

"I can't guarantee anything now, and I can't make any promises that I can't keep, but I'll try my best... I really will," I say. My skin is ghost white and has been ever since the reaping this afternoon. "I just... I just hate this unfit world. I hate how the Capitol hates us so much. A government should protect it's people."

"Quinn, you shouldn't say stuff like that here-" begins Finn.

"I don't care! I want them to hear!" I blurt. "I just... I just wish that one day, we can go beyond these four walls. Go past living our horrible lives each and every day, acting as if nothing was the matter when, in reality, everything is the matter. And nothing is right. These four walls that trap all of us here... can hopefully be broken down one day. Shatter to the ground and we can be free of control and strive to succeed in what we want." Rachel takes my hand. "Is that so much to ask for?"

…

For the rest of the day, with the approval of the community home's director, Chase and Finn lug their sleeping bags into Rachel and my quarters, and just sit in silence. For dinner, we head down to the dining hall for our usual meager portion of supper, but at midnight, we sneak down to the kitchen on the other side of the building where Niahm is and we all bake what could possibly be my last serving of homemade biscuits. After we're done, we give not two, but four biscuits to Niahm as a small token of thanks from me and he hugs me. I give him a brief peck on the cheek before I leave the kitchen, smiling as I look at it one more time. This place might not have been home before, but now, it truly is, and I never want to leave it. I think about my parents. If they're still alive as Avoxes in the Capitol, could they have possibly seen the reaping of District 12 today? Could they have recognized me, their only daughter and oldest child, volunteering for a girl her age that they don't even know and seeing all the tears that we shed among those two and a pair of boys? Did they recognize that it was Chase? I have so many questions, yet none of them have an answer.

Rachel blows the candle out after we watch today's reaping on the television screen and all four of us shift ourselves into bed. But then, instead of sleeping in his sleeping bag, Chase snuggles up next to me, and we all fall asleep together, entering a utopia in our dreams, only knowing that tomorrow it will be replaced by the most horrifying nightmare any of us could have ever dreamed of.

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_Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it! Reviews always make me update faster, and I really want to carry on the idea of this story. And I promise that there will be more Sam and Quinn next chapter. This was more of an epilouge type of thing. I cannot wait for the Hunger Games movie, I just cannot! I'm on Catching Fire now, and I'm so psyched to see it! I love the Hunger Games so much! So I hope that you enjoyed this, and I hope that you leave a review! Thanks! ;D _


	2. The Ride to the Capitol

A/N: _Akakakaka! I can't believe at the number of how many people reviewed, which was so much! Thank you all for your sweet and super kind comments, they mean so much to me! They really do, and I appreciate it so much when you guys review, my face lights up, so thank you all so much! Plans for the story, it will basically be completely different from the book, but I promise nothing bad! ;3 And also, who watched the movie? Twas fantastic although they were parts and scenes that they shimmied out of, but the movie was still fantastic! __**Also please read the rest of this author's note at the end. Thank you. **__Please enjoy this new chapter! Leave a review when you're finished, please! Thanks! :D _

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The moment sunlight hits my face, my eyes flicker open and the veins in my neck come visible again as I struggle from Chase's grip on me to look out the window. It's early, too early to be awake. I turn my head away from the window to look at the clock, squinting to see in the dim darkness. It's almost five o'clock. The Peacekeepers are coming at six. I sigh and tuck myself back under the covers, my hand softly stroking Chase's hair at the same time, kissing his forehead every couple five minutes. My head is hurting. I can't bring myself to not think about yesterday, but I really can't help myself. I'm not mad at myself for volunteering for Rachel. I'm really not. I do love Rachel, and with all my heart. She, Chase, and Finn were there for me when nobody else was. I know that I have probably done the right thing for volunteering for Rachel, but in comes the thought of me and my entire life put on basically a piece of thread and if I fall off of that thread, I will be destroyed and I will die. I don't want people to know, but I'm so scared. I really am. I don't know what to do anymore, what to think. It all hurts my head and I can't say anything about it. Chances are, I will die before the first sunset in the Arena, and probably by one of the Careers or by my own team mate.

Samuel Evans.

Everything about him gives me chills. Chills that go down your spine. It's not like I like him or anything, but it's that he always appears to be so intimidating. Samuel Evans is one of those muscular, handsome boys that girls always swoon over at our school. He has this over the top blonde hair and these ginormous fish lips. You can't miss them, they're huge. In fact, his nickname is Trouty Mouth, but he hates it. There's not much that I know about Samuel. I know that he's poor, very poor. I know that his family can't afford much, and his family needs twice as much as any other family because it's so big. Samuel has his parents to take care of, as well as his younger brother and sister, Stevie and Stacy.

I feel so bad for Samuel's family. I know that all of them need to help provide somehow for the rest of them, but Stevie and Stacy are both too young and Samuel's parents are starting to grow old. But then again, I guess I'll never how bad I can feel for him because I've just never experienced something like that before, where I never had enough food to eat, and then not only having to care for myself but also for everyone that means everything to me. I just can't imagine how that feels like. But now, it's just more like I'm being torn away from everything that I've ever known and_ I'm so scared. _

I really have no idea what's going to happen, what will be my fate. Will I die before the first sunset or make until it we're down to the last five? District 12 hasn't had a victor since Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in the 74th annual Hunger Games. I don't understand why, though. But I'm not blaming Katniss Everdeen or Peeta Mellark. They're skilled and I know it, I've met them. Or, at least, one of them.

I remember strolling into the Hob one afternoon, and it was chilly as a cube of ice outside. I stood by the fireplace inside, warming myself as I rubbed my hands together, my teeth chattering like crazy.

Five years. It had been five years since my parents had disappeared. That day... no matter how hard I tried, no matter how much more information I tried to stuff inside my brain, it was no use at all. It was like a natural instinct. Whenever the "anniversary" came during the year, I always found myself just sniveling on the ground, trying to contain all of my tears. _Don't let him see you cry_, I had always thought to myself. Chase couldn't find out about how weak I was about such a sensitive issue to me and him. I know that it's OK to cry sometimes, to just let it all out... but I have to appear strong to Chase in order for him to be strong too. Or else everything will just fall apart.

Several people had passed by me, starring, wondering why this girl was just huddled on the floor, with cheeks the color of the moon. Colorless. I didn't know what was happening until I heard footsteps coming near me, then stopped and I had seen the worn leather of her boots. I looked up and I saw Katniss Everdeen.

_"What are you doing?" she asks as she helps me out. Her strong and warm hands pull me up from the cold dirt floor I've been sitting on for so long. _

_"Nothing," I say. But that's not true. It's been five years since the disappearance of my parents, and even though I should be at the community home tending to Chase, I find myself selfish as ever, leaving behind for Rachel and Finn to deal with. _

_"Well, obviously, that's not true," she says. My eyes are still empty like they were since I had woken up this morning and I try to send an invisible signal asking her to stop asking me so many questions. She gets it. "I don't want to be in your business, though. Sorry if I've bothered you. But do you want to go back home to where you need to be right now? I can take you there; wouldn't want you walking out all by yourself in this terrible weather, the snow storm's turned into a blizzard, now."_

_I nod and she gives a half smile, but somehow I know that she doesn't half mean it. She puts her hand out for me to take and I hesitantly oblige. _

…_.._

_Katniss Everdeen rips a piece of her cheese bun and gives it to me as we stare at the sky in the lonely woods. It's silent. No sound is made and no sound is heard. The green waves of grass flow against our bodies and the sweet scent of the bark on the trees is all too familiar, but I've never been to these part of the woods. _

_"So you hunt here?" I ask. She nods._

_"I've been hunting ever since I learned... with my father," says Katniss. I give her a small nod. "These woods... they've always been a safe and secure place for me, even though if I ever got caught, let's hope not, I would be killed in an instant."_

_"But you're a victor."_

_"Doesn't matter. The rules still apply to everyone, but it's just that I get a nice house. Want some more bread?" she asks. I nod. She reaches inside her knapsack and pulls out another cheese bun. "It's still warm, so eat up." She doesn't rip it in half, and instead gives me the whole bun. _

_"All for me?" I ask._

_"All for you," says Katniss. I smile and she smiles back. I'm taken back. I do believe that I've never seen Katniss Everdeen smile, especially not when she was in the Games. _

_"Thank you," I say. I bite into the warm bun. It's so delicious and so much better tasting than the ones Rachel, Finn, Chase, Niahm, and I make with the tessera I get. Those are tasteless biscuits and can barely fill your tummy. But these buns are so warm and mouth watering. The cheese isn't sticky or soggy but it's just right. It sits not only on top of the bun but also smuggled inside and when you bite into it, you get this savory sensation in your mouth. It's like heaven. "Did Peeta Mellark bake these?" I ask. Katniss nods. After that, we sit in silence for some more time, adding to the semi awkwardness that is being thrust upon us. The sky is so clear and beautiful today. It's such a perfect day for hunting... but I'm a horrible person at the moment because I've left Chase by himself and Rachel and Finn to tend to a bawling child. But it truly is a nice day. Everything is silent and everything seems perfect. The sun is raining on the two of us and only the soft breezes that carry the scent of the forest make sound as it wraps around Katniss and I. _

_"I'm sorry..." she starts. "For what happened to you. Whatever had happened... shouldn't have," says Katniss. She's looking at me with sad eyes and genuinely feels bad for me, I can really see it in her eyes; they're speaking to me but it's her mouth that opens. _

_I never know what to do during these situations. When people apologize to me about my parents even though they did nothing. I understand that they're saying that they feel bad for my loss, but no matter what they say or what I say back to them, nothing really makes that much of a big difference. Of course, my heart always feels better when they tell me that they care, but somehow, saying sorry for some one's loss is always somehow custom to do. Even if they do truly mean it, like Katniss. I smile at her. _

_"Thank you."_

_Katniss Everdeen looks at me with curious eyes and asks, "What do you do in your spare time?"_

…_.._

_Choo! The arrows hits the bird right in the head and it drops to the ground as soon as my arrow touches it. There's a slight clunk when it flops down on the forest floor and I'm happy and smiling because that signals that I've caught a good one today. Katniss Everdeen and I leap over to the patch of dirt where the bird lands and I kneel down to retrieve my arrow, and clean it off with a lavender colored handkerchief. After I've wiped off the little blood, I put the handkerchief in the one of the loops in my brown belt, reminding myself to clean it when I get back to the community home. I slide the now clean arrow back into my leather quiver, all of which used to belong to my father, except for the handkerchief, for which I traded for with a rabbit at the Hob. I look up and Katniss is smiling at me. _

_"Nice job! And how old are you? Twelve? You're a real pro at this, aren't you?" Katniss is smiling and laughing and so I join her, showing off my pearly whites, but her's are pretty pearly, too. She kneels down beside me and takes the bird in her hands as soon as she covers them in black gloves. "Nice kill. It's pretty plump, and would make for a good stew. Cut this up and throw it into a pot with some vegetables and you've got yourself a full weekend's worth of a good meal." She smiles. And I smile too. All of a sudden, we both hear a sound scuffling behind us, and our heads both steer back behind our backs to see what's going on. We both lift our bows up at the same time. "Who's there?" says Katniss, both of us armed and ready to shoot and kill in an instant. _

_"No worry," says a deep voice. "It's just me." Out of the trees comes a tall brunette man with ropes for what could possibly be a snare and Katniss smiles and lets out a huge sigh of relief. _

_"We could have been caught, Quinn!" says Katniss. The man smiles at me and his teeth are white as milk, fresh from a cow. "This is Gale Hawthorne, a good friend of mines!" Gale puts his hand out for me to shake and I do, planting a fake smile on my face. This time was supposed to be spent with just Katniss and I, without anyone else interrupting. _

_"Hello, lovely little. My name's Gale Hawthorne. What's yours?" asks Gale. _

_"My name is Quinn Fabray. Pleasure to meet you," I say, plainly. _

_"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Quinn. I saw that bird that you shot earlier. You're a natural," Gale compliments. OK, I admit that makes me happier. I smile again, but this time, it's real. _

_For the rest of the afternoon until the sun sets late in the day, Katniss, Gale, and I dig deeper into the woods, exploring new territories that I've never had to guts to go through before. Katniss and Gale give me tips on making snares instead of always using a bow and arrow for food, although they say that I'm excellent at it. Gale gives me ropes and teaches me everything that there needs to be known about setting a simple snare, one that will get me food. Guaranteed. It's not long before the sun is hovering over the horizon and I say goodbye to Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne as I slip back to the community home over the powerless electric fence that surrounds the forest. They say goodbye as well, and that they're staying for just a little longer. I give a final look back at them as they sneak back inside the woods and I can only hope that we can all share another day like this again. _

Chase groans at my side. "Is it time to wake up?" he asks. I nod. He groans again. Then, he slips back under the covers for a while and I think that he's fallen asleep again... that is, until I hear the snuffling. I slowly take the covers off of him and I see his red cheeks and face, and his eyes are drowning in his wet tears. I don't even have to ask him, and I really don't want to.

"It's OK..." I say, taking his head in my arms and leaning him against my chest. I hides his face in the front of my nightgown and he's crying silently. I look over to Rachel and Finn, who still aren't up yet. "It's OK... it'll be fine." No, it won't. I've done something so selfish to my brother. I've offered to volunteer in the Hunger Games, which means I'm leaving him behind for my own needs. I know that it was the right thing to do for Rachel, but not necessarily for Chase. I'm so, _so _selfish. Chase will have to sit in his quarter, watching the television as he watches his older sister get slaughtered to death, die. I can't believe that he'll have to see that, raw. Soon enough, my own tears start flowing, falling onto his blonde hair. I hold him closer to me. "It's OK, Chase... it's OK... I love you," I whisper while crying, my voice cracking.

"I love you, too..." he murmurs, a small raspy sound at the end of his throat.

"I love you..."

I hear something behind me, something that's moving. I turn my head around and see Rachel getting up. She smiles at me. "Hey," says Rachel.

"Morning, sunshine," I say.

She gets out from under the covers and up from the bed, comes over to Chase and I, and kisses Chase on the forehead. "Are you OK, Chase?" asks Rachel. He nods. His crying has stopped since Rachel woke up, but his eyes are still red and sad. "Come on, you guys, let's get up; let's keep a good attitude!" Rachel's voice tries to sound happy, but it's fake and you can hear how sad she actually really is.

"Morning, guys," says a voice. It's Finn. He's groggy, and so is his voice. He wiggles out of his sleeping bag and stands up, his shirt and pants wrinkled from being snug in it all night long. He sees Chase immediately and hops over to his side of the bed. "Buddy... are you OK? Why are you crying?" Obviously, Finn knows why. But he also knows that getting that kind of stuff out is good for the heart, and that it makes you feel just a little better. So he wants him to spill.

"I don't want to talk about it," whines Chase.

Plan failed.

Finn just gives him a half but wholehearted smile and hugs him tightly. It's been like as if Rachel and I were both Chase's sisters and Finn was his older brother, someone that he could look up to and relate to. Sometimes, I'm jealous of Finn and Chase's bonding times, or manly times, as Chase and Finn call it. I take Chase's head and kiss him again but this time on top of his head, right where a leaf on a strawberry would grow.

"I love you, Chase, I really do," I whisper. What I say next, I don't care that Rachel and Finn are next to us and listening, because if those two really are my family and really do love Chase and me, then they don't care what I say. "I love you so much, so so much. You're the only thing that I care about in this horrible, stinking world and nothing will ever change that, Chase. I love you, and only you." I grab his head again and kiss his hair repeatedly. My eyes have started to water and I don't care. "I love you, I love you. Don't ever forget, Chase. I love you."

Chase has started bawling, and I just hold him to me tighter. "I love you," he wails and he grabs onto my forearm. "I don't want you to go, don't go! Don't go, Quinnie! Don't go! Don't leave me! Don't go!" I feel his wet, warm tears as they cascade down my arm and with every single second, I just pull him closer and closer to me, as if there is no limit to how close we can be.

There is a knock on the door, and it bursts open. Chase stops crying immediately. Two Peacemakers are in our view. The female one steps up.

"Be at the Justice Building in thirty minutes, no exceptions," she says stearnly, no emotion. Then, both of the Peacekeepers turn around, and march out the door, the male one closing it behind the both of them.

"I can't believe that this is happening," whispers Rachel, and Chase bursts into tears again.

…..

I stand still while Peacekeepers, one for each side of me, take my arms and lead me to the Justice Building, go inside, and dump me into an almost empty room. There's red velvet carpet and one chair and one table, made of solid oak. The walls are blood red and are as soft as the ground. I take my hand and stroke them, admiring the fluff. I sit down on the chair, back straight, face dim. The room is completely silent. The only noise present is the sound of me breathing, breathing my last breaths in and of District 12. There are footsteps, and I know exactly who's they are.

The door flings open and Chase jumps onto me, into my arms, crying. Finn and Rachel are here too. The Peacekeeper looks at us all straight in the eyes. I don't know how, but I know that he is by the look on my and everyone's faces.

"You have five minutes, no more, no less. I will be back when that time ends," he says gruffly. Then the door shuts behind him.

I don't waste anytime. "Chase, right now, we have to end this pity party. You're eleven years old, so please act like it." I kiss his forehead. "Listen to me and listen to me clear. When you are to turn twelve years old, you are not, I repeat, _not _to sign up for tessera _at all_. Do you hear me? Nod your head if I'm getting to you." Chase nods his head quickly, his tears long gone and his eyes dry. "Do. Not. Sign. Up. For. Tessera. Listen to me, Chase. If you ever go hungry, which I'm sure you won't in the community home, but if you ever do, you know how to hunt, Chase. You know how to hunt for game. So do that. You promise me that, Chase, do you hear me?" I nearly shout.

"Yes, Ma'am," he says. It's odd because he's never called me Ma'am which leads me to think that I've been to harsh on him right now so to apologize, I kiss his cheek, no tears stinging. I turn to Rachel and Finn and look at them straight in the eyes.

"You two... you two look after Chase. If anything happens to him, I come up from the fires of hell and haunt you til the day you die." Of course, I would go to hell for breaking every single rule that the Capitol has made. I don't have many requests for them. So instead, I just hug them all at once. "I love you all so much." We all huddle together in one big bunch. "Thank you, Rachel and Finn. For everything. For all the memories and everything. Just... thank you. I love you, I love you all. Don't ever forget that," I say, my eyes watering again.

"We won't," responds Rachel. And we just stay like that until the Peacekeeper comes in again.

"The allowed time is up, so everyone except for the tribute may leave," says the Peacekeeper.

Chase is the first one to let go, for one last kiss. This time, I kiss him on the lips, then on the forehead. "I love you, buddy, OK?" I ask.

"OK," says Chase. "I love you, too."

"I love you, Rachel and Finn! I love you, Chase!" I shout to them, as the Peacekeeper is dragging them out of the room, and I hear the distorted 'love you too's and 'be safe's they all manage to garble out before the door is closed and they're out of my sight. For good.

…..

The ride from the Justice Building to the train station isn't long at all. We're there in record speed. The cameras and news reporting are fighting each other to get a good glimpse of this year's tributes, and out of the corner of my eye in the swarm of people and cameras, I see Samuel Evans. His face is like a stone, and he stands tall. His eyes are also very red, and I wonder if he's been crying, or had cried at the Justice Building when he had to say his last goodbyes and give last looks at his family. I can't imagine how that could have been. And I don't want. Nor can I afford it. If I'm going to win, I have to at least try to believe in myself.

At last, Effie Trinket is by my side and shoos away reporters and cameramen and women. We step inside the door, and it's like the inside of the train is like a dream. There's plush carpet covering our feet and the furniture is beautiful. Everything is polished and everything is magnificent, out of a utopia. The windows are large and give off a sense of freedom and even safety, although I don't know why, I don't know how. Everything in here is mystical, like it's not even real. But of course, it is. Bowls of fresh fruit, a large cooked turkey waiting for us on the dining table. Plush couches and sofas yearning for someone to dive into. Plasma screens for any special Capitol broadcasts and announcements. It's all amazing.

The train takes off at once when everyone that needs to be is. Samuel comes to my side and gives me a slight nod and I give him a weak smile. Effie Trinket hurries over to the both of us and smiles like a goon. "OK, OK! It's going to be a big, big, big day! This special train from the Capitol goes at an average of 250 miles per day and we will arrive there in less than twenty four hours! Hooray! For now, both of you can choose to either stick around and stay here in the parlour room with Haymitch, Katniss, Peeta and I or choose to stay in your private quarters until the chefs are done preparing luncheon. Which will it be?" Effie Trinket asks.

"I'm staying in my room," says Samuel, his face frozen and eyes locked on nothing.

"I'll be out time and time again," I say. Effie Trinket nods.

"Terrific! Well, if Quinn chooses to stay in her room until lunch time, then I'll either myself or fetch some people to signal both of you to eat!" Effie says. Samuel and I both nod. "Fantastic!" says Effie, and Samuel sulks to his room as I go to mine.

…..

It's simple yet beautiful at the same time. Perfect polished and glazed oak wooden boards for a floor, and the bed is the same color. Light and tasteful. It's coveted with white comforters and yellow and lavender colored pillows. My dressers are the same color as the floor and the bathroom is huge. There's a shower and a tub and a toilet and a sink and mirror. And everything is a crystal clear white. I take a deep breath, and some kind of a tropical scent fills my nose and I sigh.

I walk out the bathroom and leave the lights on. The windows are enormous and they give off so much sunlight, it makes the room dance. It makes my bones tingle and my lips curve into a smile. I jump onto the bed and give a loud sigh of relief. I haven't felt this relaxed for a long time, but as soon as I think about Chase and Rachel and Finn, the feeling vanishes. But I remind myself that there's nothing that I can do about it now, so the happiness and relief returns, although a little guilt is mixed into the bowl. I know that Finn and Rachel and Chase are worrying their heads off right now, and here I am basking the glory of this train. I'm a terrible person, but I just can't seem to let this feeling of... good... run away.

I strip down and take a long hot bath until the knock of the door and Effie's voice comes.

"Lunch, dear! Hurry, hurry!"

…..

I'm dressed in a white shirt, yellow cardigan, navy ankle length khakis, and black flats as I make my way to the dining table, compliments of the Capitol. Clothes like these, we could never afford to wear back in District 12. Even the mayor and his family don't wear anything this fancy. Samuel is already there, and Effie and I are the last to arrive, since she had escorted me. At the table, I see Haymitch Abernathy, Samuel Evans, someone that I can only assume to be Peeta Mellark, and Katniss Everdeen. Katniss Everdeen. I still remember the day that I wished that I could see her again.

Only, I never imagined it to be here.

But the lunch is amazing. There's a big plate of pot roast and turkey, accompanied with fresh salads, which are sprinkled in cheese and tomatoes and croutons and chicken and cucumbers. Then, there's a massive silver pot of beef stew, where the cut up pieces of carrots and beef float around in the creamy and thick broth. After we're done with that food, the servers come and present us with a rich and dark chocolate cake. As I slice a more than enough serving for myself, the chocolate melts in my mouth and I moan in ecstasy. Everyone that isn't me or Samuel, including former tributes which just leads just Effie, stares at me.

She clears her throat and says, "I know that the food is tasty, but please keep your manners."

I nod as I shove another big bite into my already full mouth and spit out, "OK, Effie!" as some crumbs splatter onto her face and everyone snickers, including Samuel. But Effie Trinket looks disgusted. I swallow all the cake in my mouth. "I'm sorry, Effie," I say and I grab a napkin to help dab her face clear of my saliva and chocolate.

For the rest of the meal, it isn't silent anymore. We all engage in group conversations with each other, even Haymitch. I look over to my right, where Samuel sits instead of my left, where Effie Trinket sits. He eats like me. Like he's never eaten before. Even Katniss and Peeta don't look like they are hungry, since both of their families haven't been since they were victors in the seventy fourth annual Hunger Games. I observe the way that he slurps up the soup and gobbles down the chunks of cooked cow meat unlike the others where they quietly swallow it. His family must be poorer and more starving than I've thought. Then, for one crazy second, I think how this is good for Samuel, how getting reaped is better than staying at home, starving, because there is more than enough food here. But then, here I go again, turning into that terrible person; I'm so stupid. I'm so dumb sometimes.

…..

I slump into a wicker chair after lunch. I'm exhausted. I let out a deep breath of air that I've been holding since we started eating. There's only a couple more hours until we reach the Capitol. I think about going out again, to the parlour where everyone else except for Samuel and me are. I wanted to go out earlier, but then I realized that Katniss Everdeen would recognize me as the young girl she illegally met in the woods years ago. I saw her face when we were eating, I could tell that she had recognized me, remembered my face and the day we spent in the woods or when she saw the helpless child in the Hob. I can't go back out there, even if Katniss is smart enough to not reveal to everyone my secret, but then again, there's always the element of shock and surprise.

I roll around in the chair, trying to get comfortable, yet failing. Nothing ever goes right for me. Nothing ever heads in my direction. Everything always go wrong. Even something as simple as getting comfortable in a chair. And I never feel safe. The only time that I've ever felt safe was when my family was still together, my whole family, with my mother and father and Chase and I. But that feeling is long gone by now and I really do have to accept the fact that now... I'm all alone and there's really nothing that I can do about it. I don't even have my brother anymore. And he doesn't have a sister. But at least he has Finn and Rachel, who are just as equal as family.

I really am all alone. And I can't help but cry when the realization hits me, hits me hard like a bullet. It's fast like one, but the pain is too much to handle. I force myself out of the chair to look at myself in the bathroom mirror. My face is red all over and my eyes are flooding with waterfalls of tears. My nose has started to run and when I take my fingers silently to touch my cheek, it burns when contact is made, tears stinging.

I clean myself up, and engulf myself into a book for quite a few hours. I'm wrapped in the same clothes that I wore for lunch, but also in a warm grey blanket that's around my body, hugging me because there's no one else to hold on to. I order water here and there every now and then to quench my thirst, but soon enough another knock is on my door. This time, it's Effie Trinket calling me for dinner. I close my book, making sure to leave a bookmark on the page where I left off and set my glass of sparkling water on the nightstand and leave the grey blanket laying on the wicker chair.

As I walk down the corridor of the train to the dining table, the windows show the deep woods like back at home, only these seem so much more intimidating, especially since now the hours are shorter and it's getting darker and darker outside. Every time we pass a large tree that's close to the train, a colossal shadow swallows us and the walls and doors then disappears into the forest again. I think about which district we must be passing through. Maybe three, or maybe even two. Perhaps we've started entering one just now. It's getting late and dark, and it's time for dinner, so I know that we're close.

I make it to the dining table and the same people that met my eyes at lunch are back into view. I sit in between Effie Trinket and Samuel Evans again, and eye the food that is being presented to us at the table. Another thick and creamy soup. Turkey this time, with carrots and potatoes piled on top of the hot broth. And chicken. Chicken with orange slices with a tangy sauce for seasoning. There's also more salad and garlic breadsticks which are absolutely delicious, in my opinion. I gobble so much of them that I lose track of how many and start feeling guilty for taking so much. Lamb chops are intricately placed on a white platter with little broccolis surrounding it. We munch in silence and avoid talking as a group because they are little side conversations here and there, some between Katniss and Peeta and Haymitch and Effie. Samuel and I are the ones who keep quiet during the entire meal.

When supper's over, the servers bring in desert, which is a dark chocolate pudding with mint leaves on top in a, what Effie Trinket calls, Victorian styled glass goblet, or what Haymitch calls a cup.

As I'm licking my lips, tasting the residue left behind from the pudding that had touched my lips, Effie Trinket gasps when she looks at her golden pocket watch.

"Oh my, oh my! My, my, my! Why, only half an hour until we reach the Capitol! We must finish rather quickly and then we have to make our entrance! There's no time to spare! Quickly, quickly!" says Effie.

We all finish in a moment's notice and the servers come to clear the table and take our dishes away. We're all sent back to our rooms to gather up what we've brought, which to me and Samuel are nothing, but I want to take back my book. I head back inside to retrieve it, but it's gone and everything is back to the way it was before when I had just entered it. I'm mad, even though this isn't even really my room. A service man walks past the bedroom door as I turn around from the bed.

"Sir! Sir! Excuse me!" I say as I chase him down the hall. "By any chance, sir, did you clean, um, did you clean my room?" I ask.

"That room over there?" he asks, pointing to my bedroom. I nod. "Yes. Yes, I did. Why? Is there any matter?"

"Um, yes, yes, sir. I had been reading a book and-" I'm cut off by another voice.

"I have it." It's a rather deep voice, and it's one that I've never heard. I turn around to see who it is, and to my shock, it's Samuel Evans. And my book is in his hands. He's walking over to us and nods at the service man. "I'm sorry that I took it, but I noticed that you," he points to the service man, "Were cleaning her room so I thought that I'd take it back for you since I saw you so into it earlier."

"Well, problem solved," says the service man.

"May we keep the book?" asks Samuel. We.

"Yes, and good luck to the both of you. May the odds be ever in your favor," says the service man.

"Thank you," replies Samuel. The service man vanishes into the kitchen and Samuel and I just stand there until he hands me back the book a few moments later.

"Thank you," I say. "Samuel."

He stops me there. "Sam... Sam. No one actually calls me Samuel except for... for my mother. So call me... Sam." I nod, and I can tell he's starting to get emotional.

"Sam... thank you... Sam," I say.

We both nod at each other until the scene turns awkward and he walks away because we're nearing the Capitol and he says that he "wants to get a good view at the kooks". I laugh slightly at that comment because all of it is so true. The people of the Capitol are always dressed in these crazy and ridiculous get ups, and then I pray that my stylist won't be like those people and instead be Katniss Everdeen's stylist, Cinna. Cinna had had beautiful outfits for Katniss, and I won't want to look stupid on national television. Not that that matters. I look at Sam until he fades into the parlour and bite my lips. My hands clutch my book as I give my head another nod. Then, I hear Effie Trinket's voice. I can hear her because she's loud and clear, even though she's in the parlour with Sam, Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch. And I'm here all alone. Like always. Her voice booms through the corridors with a loud cheery tone to it.

"Up, up, up, everyone! Come on, come on! We have reached the Capitol!"

^.^

_Thank you for reading! And I'm so sorry for the long wait! This week, we had to do all this standardized testing in school and I just could never find the time to update. But I hope that the next chapter won't be as long! As for the author note that I wanted you to read, well, there's another Hunger Games x Fabrevans fic that just popped up, like __**right after mines**__ and I don't know if that person just copied me or whatever, but who cares. I just wanted to set that straight. But thank you, thank you all __**so much **__for reading and reviewing! It really does mean a lot to me and my face lights up whenever I see all of you guys' sweet comments, so thank you all so much! Please review so I can some input on this! And follow my Tumblr if you wanna! I'm that-awkward-asian on there! Mostly Glee and Hunger Games. But please review so I know how you feel about this and thank you so much for reading! I love you all! ;D _


	3. Cinna

A/N: _I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter, I am! The end of the year was coming really fast and I'm in eighth grade and lots of surprises come up for us and so I was busy going on special trips with my graduating class and I also had graduation along with my regular life and I'm so sorry for this long wait. It will never take months again, I swear. But thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, all that good stuff! Thanks so much for all the support, and again I apologize for the wait. Here it is! Please enjoy and please leave a review afterwards. Thanks! :D _

^.^

The glass doors swing open as I'm guided into the room inside the Remake Center where I'm supposed to be prepared for my makeover for the opening ceremonies. The place is jumping. All these silly looking Capitol people are running around with brushes and tape and scissors and soaps and large pieces of fabric, which I see are yanked from people's bare skin.

I see a girl, brunette and short... and young. Her door is left open and there's no one inside but her. Her prep team isn't there, and neither is her stylist. She's just sitting in her chair in a white robe, and nothing but a white rope, tied tightly around her waist and she appears to be crying. Yes, she is crying. I see her tear stains, I recognize them enough from seeing Chase have them all the time.

Chase. And Rachel and Finn. I wonder how they're holding up. Are they OK? Do they miss me? Has anything happened to them. I hope not. The Capitol can't do anything worse to them than they can to me, right? I'd better not jinx anything. Bad luck always occurs whenever I'm around, but then I'm pushed into my own cell before I can think about them, and the little girl anymore.

A large woman comes into view, as well as two other people, one man and woman. The first woman has enormous hair, the color of pink bubblegum, and it's stacked high like firewood on a cold winter day. She has long fingernails that are sharp and pointy at the end and shine up like a new coin, the color of a sunset's horizon. She smiles her million dollar teeth at me and says that her name is Miralynne.

The second woman is not nearly as large as Miralynne, and not as short either. Her name is Leandera and she's tall like a pine tree, and skinny as an arrow. Leandera has a nose the size of a fresh bun and hair the color of a vibrant afternoon sun.

The man's name is Venirious and his eyebrows are covered in little microscopic chunks of crystals all glued together. They look magical. Venirious is tall and dresses like a Capitol citizen most out of the three of them.

Miralynne speaks up after Venirious is done introducting himself to me, his hand letting go of mines after kissing it.

"OK, let's get started!"

…..

My legs look flawless and every strand of hair that was ever lingering on them before Leandera laid her hands on them have vanished. But the after sting that's left behind from the sticky fabric is still burning.

There are no more hairs on my body except for the blonde mop on the top of my head. Miralynne, Leandera, and Venirious have plucked every single one out and it feels like I'm a dead rabbit and they've skinned me to the flesh. Not to mention that they scrubbed my body down with a grainy and gritty ocean colored soap, leaving me spotless, whisking away from my body any remaining dead skin that lived like neighbors. My skin feels raw and exposed. To soothe it, Venirious and Leandera rub onto me a viscous lotion that relieves my tingling skin and leaves it feeling less vulnerable to anything that could touch it.

After that, they stop. I sit in my chair, waiting for something to be done, for Miralynne to take her tweezers and pull out some hairs that she's missed or for Venirious to scrub my arms to make sure that they're spotless. But they do nothing. The three of them stand in front of me, watching me like I am an animal whom they're going to attack. But their eyes looks gentle and when Leandera smiles, I know that everything is fine.

"Perfect!" says Miralynne. "You could almost pass for a lady now!" The three of them start of chuckling, but then break into a fit of giggles. I can't help but smile because they're all so innocent. These three don't plot the horrible events of the Games, they just help without knowing the real pain behind everything. But somehow, my feelings towards Miralynne, Leandera, and Venirious are good, and I don't hate them for what they do.

Leandera takes me by the arm and looks me straight in the eyes, her icy blue orbs slamming into my hazel ones and says, "Well, come on then, let's not him waiting!"

"Who's he?" I ask.

"Cinna! Your stylist!" answers Venirious, his voice cool and slick.

Cinna? I remember that name from somewhere. It hangs over the tip of my tongue until it finally hits me.

"Cinna? Cinna, the stylist for Katniss Everdeen in the 74th Annual Hunger Games? The genius behind the girl on fire?" I ask, excited. All three of them nod. I'm thrilled. Cinna will make Sam and my performance unforgettable, sure to get us sponsors.

"Well, I'll call Cinna in now," says Miralynne, picking up the lime green telephone that hangs on the wall. All she says after that is, "We're done," and she hangs up the phone and she scurries Leandera and Venirious out, herself as well, locking the door behind them.

I sit alone on the bed, a bright light hanging above. The room is filled with vibrant colors and I stand out with my plain grey robe. I see myself in the mirror that stands straight across from me. I look natural. Nothing is hiding me except for the robe, and pure, nothing artificial on my body. A job well done, my prep team.

Just then, the door opens and in comes a tall man, probably in his mid twenties or so, with eyeliner the color of gold lightly hugging his green eyes. He's not dressed anything like my prep team; he's only in a dark shirt and black pants. He introduces himself first.

"Hello, Quinn. I'm Cinna, your stylist," he says, his voice low and gentle. There's no Capitol accent to it, and I wonder where he is from.

"Hello," I say, softly.

He asks me to take my robe off and I do. Sitting back on the bed, he examines my body. He doesn't gawk at it, he studies it, looking at every detail and knowing how to make it a masterpiece. No wonder he's so amazing. His eyes focus on one part after another, and he looks like an artist at work.

"I think I've got an idea that will work like magic," Cinna whispers to me. "I'm only speaking so low so that the other stylists won't hear. Shhhhh!"

I giggle and feel like a ten year old laughing at a sock puppet her older brother has put on his hand.

"What's your plan?" I ask him, curious. My eyes wander to where he is going to, a closet made from iron.

Before opening the doors of the closet, he stops.

"I know how much everyone hates the Hunger Games, especially me, even though I'm Capitol material. I know how much everyone thinks that everything is ruined, and that's the skies are only grey now and that there is no more hope." He stops. His eyes draw onto mines and my breath hitches. "But there's something about you, Quinn Fabray. You and your friends and family lurk around the shadows of District 12, thinking that you're nothing to the Capitol. _But you are! _You _and _your brother! Your parents are somewhere we don't know, and the Capitol doesn't want us to find out, but I know that you and your brother both want to know, both _need to know! _It's bad luck for them this year because Quinn Fabray has been chosen for the Hunger Games and there's only one thing that a rainy sky needs... _the sun_."

He stops after his small speech and digs his hands and arms into the closet and pulling out the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

"Oh my God..."

^.^

_Again, sorry for the wait and I'm sorry that this chapter is also not as long as the others. I'm thinking of skipping the cereal on this one and just getting to the prize, but I'm trying hard not to do so. Sorry for the wait, I really am! Please review, and thank you! I love you! :3 And please follow my Tumblr, which is that-awkward-asian and I have Instagram too, but I'll give out my IG if you message me. Thanks! ;D_


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